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Sunday, November 24, 2013

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, November 24, 2013—If you’re a fan of NCIS, America’s top rated television series, then you probably know that its lead character, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, does not believe in coincidences.

Neither do most horseplayers, albeit to a fault on many occasions. Well, here’s what’s happened over a three-day period this week , Wednesday through Friday.

On Wednesday, the state of California, shocked to discover that horse racing was being conducted back East, got out in front of Thursday’s Congressional hearings on horse racing by joining their Mid-Atlantic brethren and others in the Uniform Rules for Medication and Drug Testing consortium. This follows the lead of Illinois which only recently came on board, and Kentucky is thisclose to joining the confederation in short order.

As trainer Turo Escalante would say after saddling one of his improbable longshot winners: “What a surprise.”

Escalante, of course, is a fictional character from the late HBO horse racing series “Luck” which--truly coincidentally--was canceled by the cable giant because, they said, it was afraid to incur the wrath of animal rights activists who might boycott their network after learning that three horses died on the set as the series was being made.

Last month, the California Horse Racing Board completed its investigations into unexplained sudden death of horses. Yet, it took until Thursday morning when in advance of the hearings it was announced that Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert had been exonerated of any wrongdoing in the sudden deaths of seven horses in his care within a 16-month period ending last March.

It was determined that five of the seven died of cardiopulmonary failure and that five of the seven were stricken in morning workouts or gallops, a sixth during a race, and the seventh immediately after racing.

“We couldn’t find anything,” said Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director of the CHRB. “It doesn’t change the fact we don’t have an answer. It does say there is something wrong here.”

It has been widely reported that following the third sudden death, CHRB testers began to look for blood doping agents. None were found, but the bronchial dilator clenbuterol, legal for therapeutic use but illegal on raceday and a source of great controversy, was found in 25 percent of the horses tested.

All seven of Baffert’s sudden-death horses were treated with thyroxine, a hormone used to treat hypothyroidism. When questioned during the investigation, Baffert told Arthur that he treated all his horses with it but stopped after the seventh death.

Arthur said it was rare for the medication to be used that extensively, and hasn’t found a barn that uses it on all their horses, but that the hormone was legally dispensed, adding that the trainer was not in violation of the rules.

Some of the known side effects of thyroxine and its derivatives are difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath, chest pain, excessive sweating or intolerance to heat, and fast or irregular heartbeat.

According to a recent New York Times report, Baffert asked his veterinarians to prescribe thyroxine, which is against American Association of Equine Practitioners policy that states treatments are to be based on specific diagnosis.

It is unknown--nor does it matter--if Thursday’s Congressional hearing was a kneejerk reaction to a damaging Times series during Kentucky Derby week or whether the Jockey Club made good on its threat to seek federal regulation if racing states were dragging their feet on having their join the Uniform Rules group.

In either case, federal Constitutional law supersedes the state statutes that govern horse racing because of possible unlawful interstate commerce activity which, by definition, is the essence of simulcast wagering.

Possible legislation, the third of its kind in the last two years, would give the feds oversight in the areas of medication use, testing, and punishment. Testing would be placed under the auspices of the United States Anti-Doping Agency which oversees the misuse of drugs in sports, including the Olympics.

The Uniform Rules organization is hoping to head off federal legislation in the shadow of the most recent regulatory wire.

Alan Foreman, chairman of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, was insistent on Capital-OTB’s “Loose on the Lead” program Sunday morning that concerns regarding Clenbuterol and corticosteroid abuse have been addressed and that a point system has been established for rules violators, doling out punishment depending upon the severity of the offense.

The sticking point will be whether Salix will continue to be allowed on raceday. Predictably, horsemen’s groups are in uniform agreement, wanting the status quo to be maintained. The congressional bill wants to see raceday use phased out within two years of a bill becoming law.

On Friday, three Penn National–based trainers and a racetrack clocker were arrested and charged with committing fraud in connection with horse racing at Penn National. The news release came from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Harrisburg. Coincidence?

The Baffert admission that he treated all his horses with thyroxine recalls Dutrow’s letting his steroids cat out of the bag.

If this is what “cleared in California” means, then the talk of hiring the the guys who took down Lance Armstrong brings to mind the image of the horse in the steam bath room from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

With Dutrow, the admission was a throwaway line in the middle of Belmont Stakes interview with lots of non-racing media about and, of course, steroids is a magical--not in a good way--word in sports.

And he wasn’t even talking corticosteroids at the time; he was talking about the kind that builds horses up and helps them recover between starts--not that that’s a good thing-- but it’s not the debilitating masking agent whereby horses can harm themselves racing while infirm.

Every day, doctors and scientists are discovering that some medications have good side effects, i.e. discovering a traditional remedy for one problem is good for helping treat another. Not that this is an endorsement of thyroxine, steroids, or anything other than hay, oats and water. Alas, the backstretch isn’t Camelot.

Some trainers have stayed in front of the testers since the beginning of time, looking for an extra edge. And it appears that thyroxine may have been the culprit in sudden death syndrome within other barns as well.

But it all might be a giant coincidence, right? The hope is that the “Uniform Rules” solution will have real teeth. Enforcement and diligence is the key. If not, then the feds are the only answer if true reform is the goal.

“Arthur said it was rare for the medication to be used that extensively, and hasn’t found a barn that uses it on all their horses, but that the hormone was legally dispensed, adding that the trainer was not in violation of the rules.”

So what is being done to stop the use of Thyroxine if it causes death when horses are engaged in vigorous exercise? Why hasn’t California immediately changed the rules!

I’m in favor of any person, group or organization, that is attempting to ban drugs: (1) that cause a horse to be able to race, without which the horse would: (a) be in pain; or (b) have difficulty breathing; and (2) that enhance a horses performance.

Obviously, the organizations in the individual States have not done so, and if they don’t, and the Feds can, so be it.

Get rid of Lasix now! That is the first step.

Are you kidding me with your point system! Persons found guilty of drug violations should be subject to criminal sanctions, and lengthy suspension (1-year minimum). Strict penalties will be the only way to stop these horse-rapists from sticking needles in these animals. They are not motorcycles to be suped up to perform. What is wrong with these people!

Don’t care what the “rules” are currently. Don’t these people have any moral “rules?”

Seems like a knee-jerk reaction was more than warranted; isn’t that what these states are now doing scrambling like cockroaches to avoid having a new babysitter. They have refused to adequately police themselves; even third world nations refuse the use of these drugs. Drugs, drugs, and more drugs. The trainers are on drugs, their wives are on drugs, their children are on drugs, and their only concern is their bank account; how much money can I squeeze out of this animal, all the while acting like they are philanthropic animal lovers, singing the praises of Lasix with hollow self-righteous arguments. They make me sick.

I’m hearing the Thyroxine story is a made up story to cover his ass. He many have given it to some or all but the way the story was presented gives him enough cover to get through the investigation in my opinion.

A, you might be right. But if history has taught us anything, anything is possible.

Given the side effects associated with thyroxine, isn’t it conceivable that if the drug were abused it could result in extreme internal hyperactivity whereby cardiac arrest could ensue when exercise is introduced?

I’m no scientist, but this looks like one of those occum’s razor scenarios.

AA,
So there’s really something else going on.
But, if they find Baffert guilty of something, it could take down the sport?

How are they ever going to clean things up?

John,
You’ve said in the past that veterinarians names should be included in the program/pp’s.
Now might be the time to start.

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